Yellow Light (Dragonfly #5)

Lack of Gyre

Arroyo
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My lie was driving me crazy.

At first it seemed okay, I wanted desperately to impress my mom. Now it just made me feel sick to my stomach.

I could sense Xanthos staring at me. He was judging my mother, I didn't like it. Being away from his people for to long made him cranky. He was worried about them, I didn't blame him. But I would never feel that same kinship, my brother would become chief instead of me. It was one of the things that sucked about having siblings in the royal family.

"Arroyo?" My mom asked me, snapping me out of my trance.

There were two cages, one had Ostend and Xanthos, the other held my mom and I. She was staring me intently.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You seem a bit off. Regardless of our situation."

I looked down, not meeting her gold eyed gaze.

"Just hungry, I haven't eaten since yesterday's scraps." I lied again.

She pursed her lips, I hoped she would buy it.

"Okay, but if there's anything bothering you, you can tell me. I won't judge you for being you."

I mumbled thanks and curled up, wrapping my wings around me to keep out the cold. Yesterday I woke up with dew hanging off my whiskers. It was freezing but I couldn't do anything about that.

"Hey guys," Ostend breathed loudly.

I glanced over at him, then didn't feel so tired anymore.

His fur was slick with sweat.

"I don't feel so good." He groaned, slipping against the Magykally enforced twigs.

Xanthos shot up and felt Ostend's temperature. His face started to pale whiter than his already sickly green skin would allow.

"I... Have only seen somethings like this once." His hands trembled.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked.

Xanthos looked up. A queasy look on his face.

"Tenebris took away his Gyre."

"The kind of Magyk that saves you life?" My mother gasped.

Xanthos nodded, swallowing dryly.

"If we don't get it back, he will die."

_____________

Tenebris was nowhere to be found.

He had passed into Heimsmire. It was a dark dimension, the only light came from candles. And only those that weren't blown out by the freezing colder-than-ice wind. You couldn't die, you couldn't get warm, and there was always some sort of mist clinging to the back of your neck.

Tenebris loved it. There were so many souls rotting in here for him to terrify. It made him feel stronger, he could almost connect back to his former darkness.

It was lurking down here somewhere. He could only reach it by 'dreaming', if one could call such a place a dream. It was worse than waking up from a nightmare drenched in sweat.

He was checking on the prisoner.

In the deepest parts of the wretched world, there was a small cage. It was made out of a dark stone, it's name lost with passing time. However, the figure inside was not dark, or quiet, or small for that matter. He could barely move. His limbs yearned to run again, to run in the desert and soak in the heart. His wings were stiff and throbbed in agony, they missed they sky. He missed staying up later to shoot through the sky like a blazing, fiery comet.

At least he was not cold. A warm fire licked at his fur, it didn't hurt him. It fact, he rather enjoyed it here in this horror hole.

Tenebris took the form of the wolf he had possessed on Earth. The wolf's name was Dragur, and he was the Alpha of the Anguis pack, the group of wolves so stealthy and devious, they resembled snakes. It didn't matter now. Now it was darkness with a capital 'T'.

Tenebris licked his lips nervously in front of the powerful being, who hadn't noticed him.

"Sweet nightmares?" he started, feeling proud of the opener he had reveled years coming up with.

Despite his dreary situation, the other wolf chuckled softly. "All these years and that's the best you've got?"

Tenebris' form flicked angrily. A dark figure rose up behind him and he winced. It was the remaining darkness, come for a status report. Not that it ever left it's post around the prisoner.

"Have you found Ostium Malitia yet?" It spoke. It's voice was cold and raspy.

The Ostium Malitia, was the only gateway through dimensions. In order to travel through the door, it had to be opened from both sides. That was the tricky part. Everyone in Heimsmire knew where the Ostuim Malitia was, but the Earth's portal had long since been hidden.

Tenebris winced. "We have a few promising locations to be fully excavated. I've enslaved more followers, the work is going faster. It won't be long now.

The strange murky mass shifted and twisted. Then it made a chortle like noise that creeped the heck out of Tenebris, it sounded like darkness laughing.

"You cannot chain my wolves forever." The Prisoner growled.

"There is a fire inside them, especially the chosen amount hundreds. You saw what he can do, darkness will always be defeated by the light."

"I cannot be defeated I am death and chaos!" Tenebris snapped back.

"Death is overcome by victory. Death is the last enemy that shall be destroyed." The Prisoner hissed. "Oh Death, where is your victory?

Tenebris howled at him. He threw words and punches but nothing could tether the wolf's tongue.

And with a gasp, He was yanked back to Earth, the middle realm. Stuck in a mortal wolf form, the same shape as that dastardly creature.

He grumbled, seething in his bad mood. He stumbled out of the cave and towards the prisoners cage's, completely invisible.

He wanted to torment them, but as he watched Tenebris noticed how they squabbled fruitlessly over one claw. A quick scan told him he may have gone a bit overboard with draining his powers.

Whoops. He honestly wouldn't mind if the sorry scrap a creature died, but he was short of limitless energy at the moment.

He let a little Gyre flow back into the withering husk. It took a deep breath, and then disappeared into a heavy sleep. That Gyre would grow back on it's own, meanwhile he had no current need for more.

He shuffled back to his cave, out of the light and wishing it would rain. That way everyone would be as miserable as he was right now.

Not for long though. They were so close.